


The Thin Pink Line

by TheDinosaurNerd



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:39:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16083446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDinosaurNerd/pseuds/TheDinosaurNerd
Summary: If there’s one thing that everybody at Ooo High knows, it’s that Bonnibel Bubblegum and Marceline Abadeer hate each other. That rule has been woven into the very fabric of Ooo High’s social structure since the two arrived 3 years ago. 3 years of burning glances, muttered insults, and full-on shouting matches.So why is Marceline having second thoughts?





	1. Just Your Problem

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I had for a little while. Vaguely inspired by jetreadsstuff 'A Girl in a Box', which they just recently finished. Go read it. 
> 
> This is probably not going to be an exceptionally long fic, but it should be fun.

If there’s one thing that everybody at Ooo High knows, it’s that Bonnibel Bubblegum and Marceline Abadeer hate each other. That rule has been woven into the very fabric of Ooo High’s social structure since the two arrived 3 years ago. 3 years of burning glances, muttered insults, and full-on shouting matches. Most people didn’t even know why they hated each other; had Marceline stepped on Bonnibel’s hamster? Had Bonnibel crashed one of Marceline’s concerts? Or was it simply because they were such polar opposites?

Again, most people didn’t know. But that they hated each other was a given.

So it was no surprise that Friday when a crowd of students appeared in the hallway surrounding the two mortal enemies as they engaged in one of their regular insult contests.

“What’s it like walking around all the time with that stick up your ass?” Marceline sneered.

Bonnibel groaned. “God, Marceline, that’s so distasteful. You know, maybe people would actually start to like you if you weren’t so vulgar.”

“Well, sorry I can’t be fucking perfect like you, _princess,_ ” Marceline spat. Bonnibel was really getting on her nerves today; more than usual. If she was pushed much farther, she might do something crazy (read: stupid).

“I never said you had to be perfect!” Bonnibel shouted. Alright, that was it. Marceline was fucking done. And, yep, before she even knew what she was doing, she did something stupid.

Marceline fired off a glob of spit that landed right on the shoulder of Bonnibel’s sweater.                            

The entire crowd gasped in unison. Bonnibel went completely rigid in shock. Even Marceline was a bit surprised by herself.

After a few long seconds of silence, Marceline snarled and stomped off. Behind her, she could hear Bonnibel’s ‘friends’ start scrambling over her, asking if she was okay while simultaneously cursing out Marceline. They sounded so worried; it almost made Marceline forget about the time she’d overheard them shittalking Bonnibel behind her back. And now, recalling that memory almost made Marceline feel bad for her.

Almost, but not quite.

Marceline had no sympathy left for Bonnibel. She was everything that Marceline hated; popular, smart, and more than a little full of herself. She had _pink hair_ , for crying out loud. And all of her friends were a million times worse than she was.

That’s the way it had been for three years.

* * *

 

Bonnie furiously scrubbed the shoulder of her sweater with a damp paper towel. She knew it was probably not necessary; after all it was just saliva, and logically she knew that it was mostly just water anyways. It was completely harmless. To Bonnie, it was more what the spit _represented_ that disgusted her so much. It was absolutely teeming with the festering hatred that existed between her and Marceline. So Bonnie scrubbed the hell out of her sweater.

“I think your sweater is clean now, Bonnie,” said Lady. Bonnie looked up and met the reflection of Lady’s gaze in the bathroom mirror. Lady was Bonnie’s best friend, and she greatly suspected she was the only person that actually cared about her. After all, Bonnie didn’t see any of her other ‘friends’ here in the bathroom with her.

Bonnie sighed. “I know, Lady. It’s just… Marceline. You know?”

Lady nodded. “I know, Bonnie. But you have to admit, you weren’t exactly trying to be civil.”

There was the heart of her problem. She wanted to be nice; she wanted so desperately to go back to being the Bonnie she had used to be. But she was in too deep now. The people who had taken her in as her ‘friends’ had changed her beyond recognition, and going back on them now would ruin her.

And besides, Marceline wasn’t exactly trying to be civil, either.

“If you’re done, I can drive you home.”

Bonnie turned around from the mirror and pulled her friend into a hug. “That sounds good, Lady.”

* * *

 

The one saving grace of this day was that it was a Friday. Marceline had spent most of the afternoon wandering around town or hanging out at the coffee shop. Now, it was getting late, and Marceline could stay up as late as she damn well wanted. And she definitely didn’t want go back to her empty house. Her dad wouldn’t be back for another few days. She hated being home alone.

So, her first thought was to head down to the local Squeeze-E-Mart and get some snacks. Maybe get some laughs out of the customers’ bloodshot eyes. So Marceline found herself going down the road in the direction of the little convenience store. She pushed through the glass door and listened to the familiar chime of the bell. From behind the counter, an exhausted-looking Finn glanced up and gave her a wave. Marceline smiled and returned it.

“Evening, Marcy. Things going well?”

“Not any worse than normal, I suppose.”

Finn nodded in understanding and returned to reorganizing the cash register. Marceline headed down an aisle and grabbed a pack of red licorice, some red starburst, and a bottle of some generic brand soda that was the color red. She turned to head back to the counter when she spotted a head of pink hair looking at some chewing gum.

Shit.

Before Marceline could duck out of sight, Bonnibel looked up and saw her. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Hello, Marceline,” she said tiredly. There were pretty big bags under her eyes.

Marceline groaned internally. She didn’t want to do this right now. She just wanted to hang out behind the counter with Finn and eat her snacks.

“Hey, Bubblegum. Come to ruin my day again?”

Bonnibel sighed. “Look- Marceline, I don’t want to do this right now. I don’t… I don’t want to fight you.”

Marceline raised her eyes in surprise. She wasn’t expecting her to say that, and she definitely didn’t expect to agree. “Yeah… neither do I.”

Then, out of nowhere, Bonnibel laughed. It sounded empty; defeated. “The thing is, I don’t even remember why we hate each other. It seems so stupid. Do you remember?”

“…not really, no.”

“But we have to fight, don’t we. Because that’s what everybody expects.”

“That’s what your ‘friends’ expect. I know they hate me; you’re just the one who says it out loud.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t think they actually like me. They just keep me around to say what they’re all thinking.”

“Isn’t that so fucked up? I don’t understand why you’d keep hanging out with people like that.”

Bonnibel sighed. Her eyes met Marceline’s, and Marcy could swear they were filled with so much sadness. “I don’t have anyone else, Marceline. Before them, I was just the weird nerd everybody ignored, and without them I’ll just be the preppy asshole everybody forgot. I don’t know if I can just throw away the only friends I have, even if they secretly hate me.”

Bonnibel took a step closer to Marceline. “Look… I know we’re going to have to keep fighting in order to maintain the ‘social order’ or whatever. But I don’t think we have to keep hating each other. I mean, we don’t have to _like_ each other or anything… but there’s no point to all this resentment between us. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about the mean stuff I said earlier.”

Marceline didn’t say anything for a second. The hope in Bonnie’s eyes faded, and she lowered her head and started walking away.

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for spitting on your sweater.”

Bonnie turned her head back. A small, tired smile graced her face for once, and Marceline couldn’t help but think how pretty she looked.

And then she was gone.

Marceline stood there in the aisle, not entirely sure what just happened. She heard Bonnibel somewhere behind the aisles, talking to Finn and paying for her pack of gum, and then she heard the bell above the door go off as it was opened. And, for the first time in three years, Marceline Abadeer felt that there could be something between her and Bonnibel Bubblegum. Maybe it would be friendship. Maybe it would be something else. She didn't know... but it was something.


	2. Hiding in a Bathroom

Marceline sank down onto the floor behind the Squeeze-E-Mart counter and sighed. She was still mulling over her conversation with Bonnibel.

“Hey, Marcy, isn’t that girl, like, your archnemesis or whatever?” asked Finn, as he put away the money Marceline had paid for her snacks.

“…y’know, I’m not really sure anymore.”

Finn hummed and closed the cash register, before going back to reorganizing the little shelf of candy bars that sat on the store counter. Marceline tore open her pack of red licorice and stuck one in her mouth. This was her and Finn’s usual routine; Marcy would come in and buy some stuff, then hang out behind the counter with him. Sometimes they’d talk about stuff, and sometimes they wouldn’t. But Marceline considered her little spot behind the counter one of the safest places in the world.

Before long, Marceline found herself starting to doze off.

* * *

 

“Hey, Marcy? Wake up. My shift’s almost over,” Finn said, shaking Marceline’s shoulder. She groaned and slowly forced her eyes open. She had been dreaming; she didn’t remember anything about it except for a head of pink hair.

“You gonna walk home? I can drive you, if you want.”

“Yeah, sounds good. Thanks, Finn.” Marceline grabbed her snacks and climbed up over the counter. The bell above the door went off as Hayden, Finn’s coworker (and girlfriend), walked in. She walked over to the counter and pecked Finn on the cheek as Marceline threw her stuff into a plastic bag.

“Hey, Finn. Slow night?”

“Hey, HW. This place has been dead today. Gotta drive Marceline home, then I’m gonna conk out until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Lucky you. Try not to sleep in too late. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Finn nodded. “Yeah. Ready to go, Marcy?”

Marceline hummed in agreement. She shot a smile at Hayden, who returned it, then followed Finn out to his car.

“Y’know, conking out ‘til tomorrow afternoon sounds like a pretty good plan. Think I’m gonna do that,” she said.

“Finally, someone agrees with me that my plans are great. I’m a strategic master.”

Marceline chuckled. “Sure thing, Finn.”

The two climbed into Finn’s car, and Marceline finished off her starburst as he started the engine. The drive home was pretty quiet; they were both too tired to make decent conversation. After a few minutes, the car pulled up in front of Marceline’s house.

“See you later, Marce.”

“Yup.” Marceline gave Finn a fistbump before slipping out of the car and walking up to the house. She heard the car pull away as she unlocked the door and walked inside, closing it behind her. She slipped her shoes off by the door and collapsed onto her couch. Sleeping in ‘til tomorrow afternoon sounded perfect right now.

* * *

 

The weekend passed by without much incident. She went out once to hang out with Finn and Jake, but besides that she stayed home and watched tv. It was her ideal weekend, and it was over all too soon.

So Marceline wasn’t exactly happy to be standing in front of her locker that Monday. The voices of everyone around her were too loud, as always, and it had taken too long already to get to her locker with everybody standing in the hallway.

Then, from down the hall, Marceline heard some all-too familiar voices getting closer. She looked, ready to get into another shouting match with Bonnibel. But then her eyes met Bonnibel’s, and Bonnibel gave her the tiniest smile, and Marceline felt suddenly compelled to spare the girl from another of their dumb fights. Before any of Bonnibel’s friends saw Marceline, she slipped away down the hallway and ducked into the bathroom. She sighed and looked into the mirror.

How had things changed so suddenly?

Marceline turned on the tap and splashed some water on her face. It helped to wake up her up a little bit.

* * *

 

Bonnie looked around the hallway curiously. Marceline was nowhere to be found, even though Bonnie had just seen her. Bonnie was thankful, of course. She didn’t want conflict anymore, especially not on a Monday. But it was weird nonetheless.

Bonnie felt somebody grab her arm, and she knew instantly that it was Lady. “Marceline’s not here,” she said. Bonnie nodded. Then, she heard one of her other ‘friends’, Alice, speak up.

“Dammit, where _is_ that punk freak? I swear, she doesn’t even have the common decency to show up. Unbelievable.”

Bonnie frowned. Alice had been one of the first people to reach out to Bonnie, back when she had first showed up 3 years ago. She had seemed so nice, they all had, inviting Bonnie to eat lunch with them and go places with them and be their friend. It had seemed so sincere, until the first time Bonnie saw them turn on one of the less popular kids. It hadn’t been pretty, and after the kid had run off crying, Alice had turned to Bonnie. “You wouldn’t turn on us, would you, Bonnibel?” she had said. And in that moment, fear had gripped her heart. She heard the underlying threat in that sentence: if you turn on us, we will ruin you.

So Bonnibel stayed with them. They continued to fawn over her, pretending to care about her. For a while, she managed to convince herself that they were really her friends; they might not be the best people around, but they cared about her.

But then Bonnie noticed the glint in Alice’s eyes when she first fought with Marceline; she had pushed Bonnie to provoke the girl, and after it was through she had seen something almost like pride in Alice’s eyes.

She wasn’t proud of Bonnibel. She was proud of herself. She had turned Bonnibel into a monster.

Bonnie wondered what would happen if she railed against her ‘friends’. Would it really be as bad as she feared? Were they really capable of ruining the rest of Bonnie’s high school life? She started to seriously consider kicking them out of her life and becoming the better person she wanted to be. And if they did ruin her social life, she could always do what she did best and focus on work.

But then, the next year, another new girl fell victim to their trap. Bonnie watched from the sidelines as they won over Lady with flattery and forced kindness. Bonnie and Lady became fast friends, and Bonnibel realized that Lady was the only person she could truly trust.

But Lady hadn’t yet seen their friends’ true nature. She was too trusting. Bonnibel tried to tell her what they were capable of, but Lady didn’t listen. After all, why would somebody as trustworthy as Bonnibel hang out with people so awful?

Bonnibel wanted to leave her ‘friends’ behind and be herself again. God, she wanted to. She thought she could handle whatever they would do to her. They could ruin her social life all they wanted; Bonnie could just withdraw into the safety of science and study to get her through the rest of high school.

But if they turned on Bonnibel, Lady would come to defend her. And then they would turn on Lady, too. Bonnie didn’t want to drag her only true friend down with her. She didn’t want to ruin Lady’s blissful ignorance about the true nature of their ‘friends’. She didn’t want to ruin her best friend’s happiness. So she decided to stay.

But was it worth it if she had to ruin Marceline’s life? Could she trade one person’s happiness for another’s like tokens?

Bonnie pulled herself back to the present. Right; Alice was still talking about Marceline, and Lady was giving her that worried look she knew all too well.

“Um… Lady, I’m gonna go wash my face. Can you make sure they leave me alone for a little while?” Bonnie motioned towards Alice and the others. Lady nodded and smiled at Bonnie.

Bonnibel retreated from the chaotic hallway and slipped into the bathroom. She ran a hand over her face and sighed, then opened her eyes to see the last person she expected to run into.

Marceline was standing there, splashing water on her face. She turned off the tap and went to go get some paper towels, and then froze when she saw Bonnibel standing there awkwardly by the entrance. Bonnie saw Marceline’s face start to twist into an annoyed expression before relaxing, as if she only just remembered what had happened between them last Friday.

Bonnibel hesitantly lifted her hand up into a wave. “Hey,” she muttered.

“Hi,” responded Marceline. “Um… your friends aren’t gonna catch us talking in here, are they?”

Bonnie smiled and shook her head. “I made sure they wouldn’t follow me in here. Lucky, huh?” Marceline’s shoulders visibly relaxed in relief.

“Yeah. No kidding. So… how… are you?”

Bonnie shrugged. “I’m fine, I guess. Not any more miserable than usual, in any case. You?”

“Same. On a good day, I’m hovering somewhere between happy and, y’know, not. I guess today is a good day.”

“It’s not really a good day if you’re not happy, though, is it? I wouldn’t think so. Makes a good day seem much less special.”

“That’s one way to look at it. I haven’t had a day like that in a while, so my only standard for a good day is just ‘not absolute shit’. I guess that’s pretty fucked up, huh?” Marceline chuckled dryly.

“Everything about this is fucked up, Marceline. I mean, look at us. We’re hiding in a bathroom. This is just sad.”

“It’s not too bad. I mean, you’re not actually that bad to talk to.”

Bonnie didn’t speak for a moment. Marceline’s face flushed. “I mean, a lot of the stuff you say is pretty depressing, but it’s a step above ‘total asshole’ so I’ll take what I can get,” she quickly added.

“No, no, I get it. You’re not so bad to talk to yourself. Isn’t that weird? The only nice conversation I can get is with the person I’m supposed to hate more than anyone else.”

“At least we’re in a place where we’re talking. If it hadn’t been for last Friday, we’d probably be out there screaming at each other like wild animals.”

Bonnie and Marceline both cast a glance over to the bathroom door.

“So…” started Marceline, “I guess you should probably get back to your ‘friends’ before they get suspicious or whatever.”

“Probably. I guess… I’ll see you when I see you, then.” Bonnie started backing towards the exit.

“Smell you later,” muttered Marceline.

 _Don’t leave it there_ , Bonnie thought to herself as she headed for the door. At the last second, she turned back. “Hey… you wanna meet up at the Squeeze-E-Mart tonight? My friends hate that place, we won’t get found out.”

Marceline deliberated for a second. “Sure. Why not? I’ll see you there.”

Bonnie smiled in relief and turned to leave, for real this time. She felt hope starting to swell up in her heart. She hoped it wasn’t misplaced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcome.


	3. Late Nights

Bonnie slugged through the rest of the day, motivated only by the idea of seeing Marceline that night. She wasn’t quite sure why she was so excited; a few days ago, her thoughts surrounding Marceline had been hostile at best. But now, there was something about what Marceline represented; a change in her routine, a wrench in the gears. And honestly, Bonnie was starting to like Marceline. She could almost be a friend.

When Bonnie walked into the Squeeze-E-Mart, Marceline was already there, lounging on top of the counter with the blonde kid who worked there. She was snacking on a pack of red licorice. When Marceline saw Bonnie, she didn’t quite smile, but the corner of her mouth perked up a little and she lifted her hand into a wave. She hopped down from the counter, said something to the kid behind the counter, and motioned for Bonnie to follow her to the other side of the store.

As Bonnie joined up with Marceline, she asked, “So, you know the guy behind the counter?”

“Finn? Yeah, he’s pretty cool. I don’t think he’d tell anybody about this, but I figure we could use the privacy anyways,” said Marceline as she sat down in front of one of the refrigerators. She patted the ground next to her, and Bonnie sat down there.

“So, Bonnie… how was your, uh, day?”

“Ugh. It was long.”

“Really? I wouldn’t think Bonnibel Bubblegum would be capable of getting bored of school.”

Bonnie lightly shoved Marceline’s shoulder. “It’s not like that, Marceline. I just… I was looking forward to seeing you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s… I dunno, it’s hard to explain. It’s like the Marceline that I’ve been fighting with for three years isn’t the Marceline that I’m talking to right now. And I want to get to know this Marceline.” Bonnie gestured to Marceline sitting next to her.

“I think you’ll find there’s not much of a difference.”

“Disagree. The Marceline I’ve been fighting is all anger and swearing and meanness. The Marceline I’m talking to now is thoughtful and tired and more than a little sad. That’s the person I want to know.”

Marceline looked into Bonnie’s eyes, and shifted herself to fully face Bonnie. She thought for a good moment before talking.

“Well, the Bonnibel I’ve been fighting is stuck-up and too smart for her own good. But this Bonnie is trying to be kind, and she’s got a lot of stuff to deal with that most people don’t know about. And she’s more than a little sad, too.”

“I guess we’re both pretty fucked up, then, huh?”

“Yeah. This Bonnie also swears a lot more. Didn’t you get up my ass about that the other day?”

“Hey. I’m supposed to be the model student. Gotta keep up appearances, you know. But don’t get me wrong, I love swearing.” Bonnie smirked. Marceline didn’t think she’d ever seen Bonnie smirk.

Before Marceline could respond, Bonnie said, “So anyways, how was _your_ day?”

“It was fine, I guess. The idea of running into you didn’t worry me as much as it used to, so I guess it was pretty good.”

“That’s good. Although, I’ve hypothesized that you ducked into the bathroom this morning to get away from me. Am I correct?”

“Did you just say ‘hypothesized’ in normal conversation?”

“Answer the question, Abadeer.”

Marceline shrugged. “Honestly, I ducked into the bathroom so you wouldn’t have to deal with me. I figured, y’know, if I stuck around, we’d have to fight, and I didn’t think you’d really like that. So I made myself scarce.”

Bonnie paused. She stared at Marceline, surprised, before putting on a genuine smile. “Marceline… you did that for me?”

Marceline nodded. “Yeah, y’know, one of us has to try to be nice, right?” she said jokingly.

“I appreciate that. Really, I do. Thank you, Marceline.”

“Hey, no problem.”

Bonnie laid her head back against the refrigerator and closed her eyes. Marceline finished off her licorice. There was silence between them for a minute, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Then Marceline started humming. It was a quiet little tune, something Bonnie didn’t recognize, but it was very pretty. In fact, Bonnie thought, Marceline’s voice was very pleasant to listen to.

After Marceline had stopped humming, Bonnie asked, “What was that? That song?”

“Oh, just a little something I came up with.”

“You wrote that?”

“Yeah? I mean, music is kinda my thing. I love singing. I write my own songs sometimes.”

“Wow. Um… does it have any words?”

“I’ve got the first part of it down, but not the whole thing. I can sing what I have so far, if you want.”

Bonnie nodded enthusiastically. Marceline took a deep breath.

_La da da da da,_

_I’m gonna bury you in the ground_

_La da da da da,_

_I’m gonna bury you in my sound, I’m gonna_

_Drink the red from you pretty pink face, I’m gonna-_

Marceline hummed the rest of the start of the song. “That’s it.”

“It’s nice. You should try to finish it.”

Marceline thought for a moment, studying Bonnie’s face. “You know, I think I have an idea.” She took another breath.

_Sorry I don’t treat you like a goddess_

_Is that what you want me to do?_

_Sorry I don’t treat you like you’re perfect_

_Like all your little loyal subjects do_

_Sorry I’m not made of sugar_

_Am I not sweet enough for you?_

_Why can’t you just avoid me?_

_I know I’m just a fucking problem to you, well_

_I’m just your problem_

_I’m just your problem, it’s like I’m not_

_Even a person, am I?_

_I’m just your problem, well_

_I shouldn’t have to justify what I do_

_I shouldn’t have to prove anything to you_

_I’m sorry that I exist, I forget what landed me on your blacklist, but_

_I shouldn’t have to fix things between me and you, so…_

Marceline’s eyes met Bonnie’s. She looked so captivated and attentive and… pretty. And in a sudden moment, she knew how to end her song.

_Why do I want to?_

_Why do I want to…_

Marceline trailed off. Bonnie was watching her with a look of awe on her face.

“That was really nice, Marceline. You’re a really good singer. I mean it.”

Marceline smiled. “Thanks, Bonnie.”

* * *

 

The next morning, Bonnie groggily opened her eyes. She had stayed out with Marceline pretty late last night; they had worked on homework together, and then talked until Finn's shift ended. The point was, she desperately did _not_ want to get up now.

Her eyes fell to the clock at the side of her bed. It was 8:34.

She was late for school.

SHIT!

Bonnie practically fell out of bed and scrambled to her closet. Suddenly fully awake, she quickly threw on some clothes and grabbed her backpack. Bonnie sprinted out of her room, put on her shoes, grabbed her keys, and ran out the door. Fortunately, the school was close enough to her house that she could walk (or run, as the case may be), so she arrived within five minutes, completely exhausted. As she approached the front doors, Bonnie started to feel nervous. She had never been late to school before. _Never_. This was going to be a shitty day.

* * *

 

At lunch, Bonnie managed to slip away from her ‘friends’ to hide in the bathroom. Her morning had been hell; Alice especially had given her shit for breaking her perfect attendance record. It had seemed like friendly teasing, but Bonnie picked up on a hint of genuine resentment behind Alice’s words. And she still had to get notes from Lady, which would take time she didn't really want to spend.

Bonnie slipped into the bathroom, then practically jumped out of her skin when somebody tapped her on the shoulder.

“Looks like somebody’s started skipping school. I think I’m becoming a bad influence.”

“God dammit, Marceline!”

Marceline smirked. “Whoa, somebody’s glad to see me.”

“You scared the shit out of me! And today has been really stressing me out, okay?”

“Yeah, I guessed you might be. Showing up late can’t be good for someone like you, right?”

Bonnie frowned.

“Look,” Marceline continued, “being late every once in a while is perfectly understandable, alright? Don’t work yourself up over it too much.”

Bonnie sighed. Marceline was right. “I know. Thank you, Marceline.”

Marceline smiled and patted Bonnie’s shoulder. “No problem. Now, you should probably get back out there before you’re missed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are welcome.


	4. The River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho ho ho friends
> 
>  
> 
> I wasn't expecting to come back to this story, but.... call it a holiday miracle

Marceline and Bonnibel had been talking now for a few weeks or so. They met up every other night at the Squeeze-E-Mart on Finn’s shift. Marceline was finally getting to know the real Bonnie- the science dork who did experiments on her own free time and actively sought out extra work- even though her grades were flawless. Honestly, it was adorable how much Bonnie loved learning- not that Marceline would ever say that out loud.

Today was Saturday, thank god. Marceline had no plans, as usual; her dad didn’t get home until tomorrow, so she wasn’t going to be dragged into some half-assed attempt at family bonding. But she also didn’t just want to sit around at home all day.

Marceline pulled out her phone. The last time they had met, she and Bonnie had exchanged numbers. Maybe Bonnie would be down to hang out. It was worth a shot, in any case.

vampirequeen- hey bonnie you wanna hang out

princessbubblegum – Sure. You have anything in mind?

vampirequeen – i was thinking we could go down by the river

princessbubblegum – Sounds good. We’ll have to steer clear of the mall, though.

vampirequeen – meet me there in 10

Marceline grabbed her jacket and headed out the door. Fall was slowly turning to winter, and it was starting to get cold. She liked it; something about the whole world preparing to essentially die, but not without that sliver of hope for spring. And it was always very pretty, in a way different to how summer and spring were. It was nice.

Marceline headed down the road past the mall- a decent place, but not really her speed- and started down the concrete path that split off from the road. The trail went into the trees that lined the busy road, before meeting the river that ran through town. Marceline hopped down off the path and down a small incline, landing on the sandy riverbank. She looked down the river a little ways.

Bonnie was sitting on a rock there, kicking pebbles into the water. She was wearing the same sweater that Marceline had spit on.

That didn’t exactly help her conscience.

Bonnie turned her head, spotting Marceline, and waved. “Yo, Marcy!” she yelled. Marcy ran the rest of the way down the riverbank to meet her.

“Hey, Bonnie,” Marcy said quietly as she sat down on the rock next to her. She gave Bonnie a bright smile, showing off the plastic vampire teeth she had in.

“Isn’t Halloween over?”

“Dude. It’s always Halloween if you want it to be.”

Bonnie shrugged and picked something up from the river. She pressed it into Marceline’s hand; it was a smooth, flat rock.

“My record’s six skips. Let’s see what you’ve got, Abadeer.”

Marceline closed one eye and hurled the rock into the slow-moving water of the river. It bounced off the surface once before plopping into the current with a low splash. Marcy turned to Bonnie and smiled sheepishly.

Bonnie plucked another stone from the sand. With a flick of her wrist, the rock flew towards the river. Despite the flowing current of the water, it skipped five times. Marceline gave Bonnie a look out of the corner of her eye.

“How. The fuck.”

“It’s simple physics, Marceline. You just have to estimate the mass of the-“

“Alright, nevermind, spare me the science shit,” Marcy teased. “We’ll just name you stone-skipping champion and leave it at that.”

Bonnie smiled proudly, and Marcy rolled her eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

The two sat in silence for a little while, watching the river flow past them. A small group of ducks came swimming down the river, quacking quietly as they went.

“So, what do you think of the mall?” Marcy asked after a little while.

“Oh, it’s… nice. I mean, I like going there sometimes. Plenty of quiet places to do homework. I just didn’t want to go there today cause Alice and the others spend a _lot_ of time there. Like, a _lot_. Think stereotypical 80s teen movie times 100.”

“We’ve reached lethal levels of teen movie! All hands abandon ship!” Marcy threw her arms out and fell backwards off the rock, landing with a soft thud on the sand. Bonnie snorted and started giggling.

“Dude, Marcy, you’re supposed to be cool. Stop being such a dork!” She kicked a spray of sand at Marceline, getting a middle finger in response.

“Hey, don’t blame me. Hanging out with you is making me nerdier by the minute. It’s physically painful.”

Bonnie slipped off the rock and plopped down next to Marcy. “Rate your level of pain on a scale of 1 to 10.”

“57.”

“That would be equivalent to, like… being on fire, getting stabbed in the face, and having every bone in your body broken all at the same time. You would be beyond dead.”

“Sounds about right,” Marcy remarked dryly.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and smiled. Above them, sunlight filtered in through the leaves of the trees, casting little dots of light onto their faces. It was so quiet.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a long time,” Bonnie whispered.

“We haven’t done anything,” Marcy pointed out.

“Yeah, but… it’s been really nice. Today’s been the first day in a while that I really felt like I had nothing to worry about. That I didn’t want to yell at something. Or someone. And it’s all thanks to you. Thank you, Marceline. I mean it.”

“Hey. What are you even thanking me for? I’m having fun too. That’s more than I can say for my normal days. My average weekend is either loneliness for two days, or my dad dragging me into some dumb bonding shit.”

“Your dad’s out of town, right?”

“Yeah. He gets back tomorrow, and then he’ll be gone again in December. It sucks being alone so often, but… he tries, at least. I appreciate that.”

“He cares about you, Marcy. When he gets back tomorrow, you should let him know you care too.”

“I… will do that. Thanks, Bonnibel.”

Bonnie smiled. Above them, a tiny butterfly landed on one of the tree branches. Bonnie’s hand inched a little closer to Marcy’s without them noticing.


	5. Love

Marceline stared out the window of the Squeeze-E-Mart. Outside, the first snow of the season was coming down, and it was coming down hard. About damn time, Marcy thought.

“Lovely weather we’re having,” Finn joked. “Yeesh, if this keeps up I’m gonna have trouble getting home.”

Marceline and Finn were pretty much alone in the Squeeze-E-Mart. Bonnie wasn’t coming- she had to work on a project with Alice.

Now that they’d been hanging out for a few months, it felt weird being here _without_ Bonnie. Hanging out at the Squeeze-E-Mart had basically become their thing. Finn would slip them free snacks every so often while they did their homework. Or, you know, _if_ they did their homework. Often times Marcy would try and break Bonnie’s concentration with a joke, or an insult, or by poking her in the face. It usually worked.

Marceline jumped down from the counter and went to get some snacks. As she perused the aisle, she heard the bell ring, signaling the door opening. She could hear the wind howling outside for a brief moment before the door closed again. Marcy tuned out the sound of Finn’s standard polite greeting to focus on the selection of graham crackers before her. The cinnamon ones were on sale…

Marceline heard the newcomer walk down the aisle towards her. She didn’t give it much thought. Just another customer. Until…

“Hey, Mar-Mar.”

Fuck.

Marceline turned around slowly to face him. He still had that dumbass haircut. Whoever told him it looked good must have really hated him. That made Marceline smile internally.

“Ash.”

“You know, we haven’t talked in a while. It’s almost like, I dunno… you’ve been avoiding me.”

“I wonder why I’d ever want to do that,” Marcy sneered.

“But, no, it’s fine. I’ve been talking to some new people, and I’ve heard some interesting things. You know Alice K, right? She and her friends have some pretty interesting theories about who you’re sleeping with these days. And I don’t want to say I dropped them any hints, but… I totally did.”

“What do you want, Ash?”

“Well, I came here to get some snacks. But seeing as you’re here, I’m not going to miss out on some friendly conversation. As I was saying, there’s some nasty rumors going around about you. Honestly, I’m surprised you draw so much attention to yourself with your little feud with that Bubblegum girl. Seems like kind of a dumb thing to do.”

Ash turned contemplative for a moment, watching her with an intense look. Marceline refused to meet his eyes, staring intently at a pack of crackers.

“Actually, knowing you, dumb sounds about right. You did dump me, after all. But hey, that’s in the past. I want to know about the present. You know, I’m curious, who _are_ you sleeping with these days? Probably some freak. Maybe… maybe it’s that Finn kid. Man, imagine if Alice and her cronies caught wind of something like _that_? It’d probably be a real shitshow for the both of you. Be a shame if-“

Ash was cut off by Finn clearing his throat next to the two of them. He was holding a broom and dustpan. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some sweeping to do,” he said politely, although Marceline detected an edge to his voice.

Ash backed up a little. “You know, I’m gonna go grab a soda or something. See you chumps later.” He turned and walked off towards the refrigerators at the back. Finn watched him go before ducking down to sweep the floor.

“Thanks for the save, Finn,” Marcy whispered. Finn nodded imperceptibly in response.

Marceline headed back to the counter and sat down behind it. She buried her face in her hands. Now was not the time to break down. That’s what Ash wanted.

She just wanted to get out of here. She wanted to see Bonnie.

Fortunately, it was only about a minute before Finn returned to his post next to her. Another set of footsteps followed him.

“That all for you?” she heard Finn say.

“Yeah,” muttered Ash. “Could you hurry it up? I don’t have all night.”

“That’ll be $1.19.”

Marceline heard the cash register open, then close again. She poked her head up from behind the counter. Ash was starting to walk away, thank god.

“Have a nice night!” Finn exclaimed politely. As soon as Ash was turned away completely, his face shifted from a pleasant smile to a downright murderous glare. The two watched as Ash headed out the door, bumping into Hayden as she walked in.

“Hey, Finn. Marceline. You guys… alright?” she asked. Finn’s face brightened immediately. Marceline’s… did not.

“We’ll be fine. She’s all yours, HW. Good luck with the weather.” Finn jumped up over the counter. Marceline stood up feebly and followed him out the door to his car.

* * *

 

“You sure you’re alright, Marce?” Finn asked as she climbed out the door. “He didn’t say anything too stanked up, did he?”

“Don’t worry about it, Finn.” She gave him a fistbump and closed the door. The snow had let up quite a bit, fortunately. Marcy headed up to her house as Finn drove away. She opened the door and went inside, sinking to the floor with her back to the door.

There was only one thing she wanted to do more right now than wallow in misery. She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

* * *

 

Bonnie watched as Alice drove away and disappeared into the snow. Their project had been completed, fortunately, despite how unhelpful Alice was. All she did was talk. It was infuriating, and a little unsettling. Alice had a penchant for bad rumors. Really, _really_ fucked up rumors.

Bonnie’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out to find a new message.

vampirequeen – hey are you free

princessbubblegum – Yeah, Alice just left. Why?

vampirequeen – can i come over

princessbubblegum – I mean, yeah. Of course. Is everything okay?

There was no response. Bonnie frowned.

A few minutes later, as Bonnie was finishing up the last of her homework, there came a knock at the window. She gasped and rushed over to find Marceline standing out there, without a coat or a hat or anything, shivering in the cold. Bonnie quickly opened the window and pulled Marcy in.

“Marceline, what the junk?! It’s fucking freezing out there? You could have gotten hypothermia, or frostbite, or… what were you _thinking_?!”

Marcy shrugged as best she could while shivering. “I wanted to see you.”

Bonnie sighed, and her annoyance quickly faded to concern. Marceline looked absolutely awful. Besides the obvious visible repercussions of freezing temperatures, her eyes looked a bit red. Had she been…?

“Come on, sit down,” Bonnie said, sitting down on the bed and patting the space next to her. “What’s wrong, Marcy?”

Marceline sat down with a groan. “I… Ash kinda cornered me at the Squeeze-E-Mart earlier.”

“Oh. Your ex, right?”

Marcy nodded. “He’s always been an asshole. But ever since we broke up, he’s really tried his best to make me feel like shit. Today, it just hit closer to home than usual. It’s just… it’s like he represents everything that made you hate me. He helped make the Marceline that everyone knows. The Marcy that’s mortal enemies with you. And every time I see him, it just drives home the point that we’re not supposed to be friends. It fucking sucks.”

Bonnibel placed her hand on Marcy’s cheek. “Hey. I get it. All the time I spend with Alice and the others… it makes me sick, knowing what they think of you. I hate myself every second of it. But I do it anyways, because it keeps the people I care about safe. I do it because I get to see you. I don’t hate you anymore, so Ash can’t win. Not really. Getting to know you has been the best thing to happen to me in a long time. You’re my best friend, Marceline.”

Marcy’s eyes met Bonnie’s, their faces only a few inches apart. “You mean that?”

Bonnie nodded.

“I… you’re my best friend too, Bonnie.”

 

They both leaned in at the same time. When their lips met, Marceline’s brain fucking imploded. And then it exploded.

They pulled apart at the same time. Marcy placed her forehead on Bonnie’s. “We’re screwed, aren’t we?” she said with a smile. Bonnie giggled.

“Irreversibly.”

“Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

“I don’t know. I think so. We’re being who we really are. There’s nothing wrong with that. Besides, even if we aren’t… I don’t really care.”

Bonnie grabbed Marceline’s collar and pulled them both down onto the bed into another kiss.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LET'S GET GAY FOLKS

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are welcome.


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